1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of generators, and more particularly, it relates to a generator having polyphasic multiple coils in staged staggered arrays.
2. Background of the Invention
Conventional electric motors employ magnetic forces to produce either rotational or linear motion. Electric motors operate on the principle that when a conductor, which carries a current, is located in the magnetic field, a magnetic force is exerted upon the conductor resulting in movement. Conventional generators operate through the movement of magnetic fields thereby producing a current in a conductor situated within the magnetic fields. As a result of the relationship between conventional motors and generators, conventional generator technologies have focused mainly on modifying electric motor designs, for example, by reversing the operation of an electric motor.
In a conventional design for an electric motor, adding an electrical current to the coils of an induction system creates a force through the interaction of the magnetic fields and the conducting wire. The force rotates a shaft. Conventional electric generator design is the opposite. By rotating the shaft, an electric current is created in the conductor coils. However the electric current will continue to oppose the force rotating the shaft. This resistance will continue to grow as the speed of the shaft is increased, thus reducing the efficiency of the generator. In a generator where a wire is coiled around a soft iron core (ferromagnetic), a magnet may be drawn by the coil and a current will be produced in the coil wire. However, the system would not create an efficient generator due to the physical reality that it takes more energy to pull the magnet away from the soft iron core of the coil than would be created in the form of electricity by the passing of the magnet.
As a result, there is a need for a generator wherein the magnetic drag may be substantially reduced such that there is little resistance while the magnets are being drawn away from the coils. Furthermore, there is a need for a generator that minimizes the impact of the magnetic drag produced on the generator. In the prior art, Applicant is aware of U.S. Pat. No. 4,879,484 which issued to Huss on Nov. 7, 1989 for an Alternating Current Generator and Method of Angularly Adjusting the Relative Positions of Rotors Thereof. Huss describes an actuator for angularly adjusting a pair of rotors relative to each other about a common axis, the invention being described as solving a problem with voltage control as generator load varies where the output voltage of a dual permanent magnet generator is described as being controlled by shifting the two rotors in and out of phase.
Applicant also is aware of U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,263 which issued Aug. 13, 1985 to Avery for Electric D.C. Motors with a Plurality of Units, Each Including a Permanent Magnet Field Device and a Wound Armature for Producing Poles. In that reference, Avery discloses an electric motor having spaced stators enclosing respective rotors on a common shaft wherein circumferential, spaced permanent magnets are mounted on the rotors and the stator windings are angularly offset with respect to adjacent stators slots so that cogging that occurs as the magnets pass a stator slot are out of phase and thus substantially cancelled out.
Applicant is also aware of U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,745 which issued to Lux on Oct. 16, 1984 for a Disc Rotor Permanent Magnet Generator. Lux discloses mounting an array of magnets on a rotor so as to pass the magnets between inner and outer stator coils. The inner and outer stators each have a plurality of coils so that for each revolution of the rotor more magnets pass by more coils than in what are described as standard prior art generators having only an outer coil-carrying stator with fewer, more spaced apart magnets.
Applicant is also aware of U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,031 which issued Wharton on Dec. 8, 1981 for a Rotary Electrical Machine. Wharton purports to address the problem wherein a generator's use of permanent magnet rotors gives rise to difficulties in regulating output voltage under varying external load and shaft speed and so describes a servo control of the relative positions of the permanent magnets by providing a rotor having a plurality of first circumferentially spaced permanent magnet pole pieces and a plurality of second circumferentially spaced permanent magnet pole pieces, where the servo causes relative movement between the first and second pole pieces, a stator winding surrounding the rotor.
Furthermore, while existing generator systems are relatively efficient at converting mechanical to electrical energy, these existing systems have a narrow “efficient” operational range, and lack the specific power density required to maximize usefulness for many applications. Existing systems have only one “sweet spot” or one mode of efficient operation. As a result, these technologies are challenged to convert mechanical energy to electrical energy efficiently when the prime-mover energy source is continuously changing.
The “sweet spot” for many typical systems is about 1800 rpm. At this speed the generator can efficiently process kinetic energy into electricity, but at speeds outside this optimal range these systems cannot adapt and therefore either the energy collection system (i.e., turbine) or signal processing circuitry must compensate. The methods for compensation are many, and may simply be the turning of turbine blades away from the wind (furling or pitching) to slow the rotor, or gearing mechanisms to compensate when wind speeds are below the generators optimal operating range. These methods all waste energy in an effort to match a constantly changing energy source with a generator looking for a predictable and constant prime-mover.
Therefore these conventional generators have an inability to maintain a high coefficient of performance due to a limited operating range. Extensive efforts have been made to expand the turbine's ability to cope with excessive energy (when wind energy exceeds the threshold) through mechanical shedding of energy (i.e., wasted output). Conversely, in those cases where input energy is below the threshold, current generators either fail to operate, or they operate inefficiently (i.e., wasted input). Most of the efforts to date have focused on either mechanical input buffers (gear boxes) or electronic output buffers (controls), but the cost has been high, both in terms of development costs & complexities as well as inefficiencies and increased operations costs.